Steel girders or structural beams typically require that holes be formed in their flanges and/or webs at selected locations to receive connecting bolts, rivets or other fasteners. Typically, the holes are preformed at the mill where the steel beam is rolled. This usually requires special, very expensive, complex and heavy machinery which moves the steel beam relative to a hole forming device such as, for example, the system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,593. The present invention is an alternative approach to this technique. Rather than laying out and drilling the holes at the mill, in accordance with the present invention these functions are performed at the building site, and without turning the beam. This permits complete fabrication at the site with minimum overhead costs and with minimum detailing. One man can with the aid of the layout tool fabricate the beam.